The 17th May 1877 saw the formation of the Victorian Football Association (VFA). The foundation Senior clubs of the association were Albert Park

Albert Park Football Club

Albert Park Football Club is an Australian rules football club located 3 km south of Melbourne in the suburb of Albert Park.Originally affiliated with the VFA during the 19th century.The club colours are red and white....

, Carlton

Carlton Football Club

The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...

, East Melbourne, Essendon

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

, Hotham

North Melbourne Football Club

The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...

, Melbourne

Melbourne Football Club

The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....

, St. Kilda & West Melbourne

West Melbourne Football Club

West Melbourne Football Club was an Australian rules football club which played in the Victorian Football Association . They were based at the North Melbourne Cricket Ground and had a red and white striped guernsey.-History:...

. The Junior section of the VFA originally included such clubs as Ballarat

Ballarat Football Club

The Ballarat Football Club competes in the Ballarat Football League in the Ballarat region of Victoria, Australia. The club, nicknamed the Swans, has a history dating back to 1860. Ballarat once competed in the Victorian Football Association....

, Hawthorn

Hawthorn Football Club

The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...

, Northcote

Northcote Football Club

Northcote Football Club, nicknamed The Dragons, was an Australian rules football club which played in the VFA from 1908 until 1987. The club's colours were green and yellow and it was based in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote...

, South Melbourne

Sydney Swans

The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...

, Standard, Victoria United, Victorian Railways and Williamstown

Williamstown Football Club

The Williamstown Football Club, nicknamed The Seagulls, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne and are currently playing in the Victorian Football League...

.

The VFA oversaw revision of the rules and the playing of inter-colonial games. The game flourished in Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 and even for a time in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.
Unfortunately the VFA and others failed to spread the code and maintain interest in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

The inaugural VFA Premiership in 1877 was won by the Carlton FC.

1877 VFA Top 4

• Premiers: Carlton FC
• Runners-Up: Melbourne FC
• 3rd: Hotham
• 4th: Albert Park FC
  Albert Park Football Club
  Albert Park Football Club is an Australian rules football club located 3 km south of Melbourne in the suburb of Albert Park.Originally affiliated with the VFA during the 19th century.The club colours are red and white....
  
  

External links

• Victorian Football Association/Victorian Football League History (1877-2008)
  Victorian Football League
  The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
  
  
• List of VFA/VFL Premiers (1877-2007)
• History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1853-1900)
  History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1853-1900)
  Australian rules football, also known as Australian football and known colloquially as Aussie rules, was first organised in Victoria in 1859 when its first rules were written by the Melbourne Football Club...